Greetings all,
Well, my trusty ol' 252 is acting up, again. OK, it's not really mine,
_technically_ it's my bosses, but you know what I mean, right?
Anywho, a little over a month ago it started acting up, at first it was
like the hi freq. was having problems "lighting". We cleaned the contacts,
no better. Replaced the contacts, no better. Spent over a week in the shop,
they replaced the HF capacitor and transformer, brought it back saying it
was fixed, NOT! It has actually been to two different shops, they keep
putting it on a load back and say that it checks out fine, but after a
fairly short time using the welder on AC, (welding 1/8" Alum.) it begins to
act up.
I am beginning to suspect that the problems is in the AC circuit
somewhere as the HF is working, you can hear it crackling and see the little
lightning bolts, however it does not want to "light" the main arc.
GGGRRRR!!
My question, finally, is where could I find a schematic for this welder?
I tried ESAB's website with no success, any other ideas?
Thanks in advance,
Jim C Roberts
Try replacing the TIG torch........
Phil Kangas
Jim C Roberts wrote in message ...
not really mine,
right?
at first it was
cleaned the contacts,
week in the shop,
back saying it
shops, they keep
but after a
Alum.) it begins to
AC circuit
and see the little
main arc.
for this welder?
Phil,
Did that, sorta. Before they took the machine the last time we switched
both the torch and ground off of another machine and it behaved the same. I
may go ahead and swap it again and see if it helps, but I still think the
problem lies in the AC circuit somewhere. But what do I know?? :)
Thanks for the reply Phil,
Jim
Have you tried AC stick welding with it? If that gives you problems too
you'll know it's an AC arc problem rather than a HF problem. Use a rod that
welds easy like 6013. Try DC too to see if that makes a difference.
Best Regards,
Keith Marshall
snipped-for-privacy@progressivelogic.com
"I'm not grown up enough to be so old!"
Keith,
That is a very interesting suggestion. That would be a great way to
determine if the AC side is/is not working properly, as you said. I will
have to try out in the morning.
Thanks Keith,
Jim
You're welcome. Let us know what you find out.
BTW, a friend loaned my son and I an old Lincoln IdealArc TIG 250/250 so
that my son could learn to TIG (me too). He didn't have a TIG torch on
it but I had one that I'd picked up at an auction so he explained that to
use it we should use the stinger as the ground and hook the ground to the
TIG torch. That didn't make sense to me because it was an AC/DC machine and
we should have been able to just switch the polarity and hook the stinger to
the TIG torch and use the ground as ground but I didn't question it since he
was the pro. :-)
When we got it home and started using it I found out why he was doing it
that way. The AC/DC+/DC- switch would only work in one position. In AC or
the opposite DC polarity there was no output. I removed the top cover and
found that the contacts of the polarity switch had a huge glob of melted
metal on it that kept it from working in any other position. I clean it off
and burnished the contacts and it's worked great ever since.
In other words, you could have a similar problem. In my case I'm fairly
certain it happened because someone switched it while welding. Sounds like
you've been using this machine for quite a while and the problem has been
intermittent so I doubt it's the same situation but it could still be a very
simple fix.
Best Regards,
Keith Marshall
snipped-for-privacy@progressivelogic.com
"I'm not grown up enough to be so old!"
Keith,
I done the stick welding this morning, 6011 1/8" rods, it worked fine. Go
figure.
It worked for a little while on TIG this morning, then got to where it
would not "light". So, it left this evening on the back of a truck headed
for the repair shop. I asked the guy if he could bring it back "Blue", hey
it doesn't hurt to dream, right?
I did ask a local supplier for a price on a comparable Miller. He said a
Miller 250 with the Tig-runner package would be about $3200US, his associate
that picked up the ESAB
today said he could get us a little better deal. Dreaming again, but what
the heck.
Thanks again for the reply Keith,
Jim
You're welcome. It was worth a try at least. :-)
That's a lot of money but depending on your situation down time can cost
quite a bit too so it may be worth it if the ESAB continues to give you
trouble.
Good luck!
Best Regards,
Keith Marshall
snipped-for-privacy@progressivelogic.com
"I'm not grown up enough to be so old!"
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